Costco Wholesale Corporation Reports June Sales Results

U.S. retailers’ nonstore sales reached $55.829 billion in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, a 9.1% increase compared with $51.155 billion in the same month of 2017, new monthly data from the U.S. Commerce Department shows. That’s a slower increase than in April, when nonstore sales grew 10.5% on an adjusted basis year over year. Nonstore sales mainly take place online but also include other channels, such as mail and telephone orders, door-to-door sales and sales through vending machines. Click Read More below for additional information.

Learning technology company Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced that it has paid down approximately $337 million in principal of its outstanding debt with the net proceeds of its recent divestiture of HMH Books & Media, its consumer publishing business. Following the completion of the required Asset Sale Offer and Collateral Asset Sale offer on June 8, HMH has reduced the outstanding principal amount of its Senior Secured Notes due 2025 to approximately $303 million. Additionally, via a combination of mandatory and voluntary prepayments, the Company has reduced the outstanding principal amount of its Senior Secured Term Loan Facility due 2024 to approximately $22 million. All prepayments were completed at a price of 100% of the principal amount.

Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Robert Thomson said: “Fiscal 2024 was an outstanding year for News Corp, as we not only delivered robust earnings growth and created substantial shareholder value, but took a significant step to prepare the Company to prosper in the AI age. Our landmark agreement with OpenAI is not only expected to be lucrative, but will enable us to work closely with a trusted, pre-eminent partner to fashion a future for professional journalism and for provenance. Meanwhile, we have begun to take legal steps against AI aggressors, the egregious aggregators, who are predatory in the confiscation of our content. ‘Open source’ can never be a justification for ‘open slather.’